Actor/director Matt Dillon thanked the Savannah Film Festival for his award, and said he enjoyed working with SCAD's film students. (Photo by Carl Elmore/For the Savannah Morning News)-For the Savannah Morning News

Matt Dillon was the star of the show, but he wasn’t the only one receiving special recognition Friday at the Savannah Film Festival.

Before presenting Dillon with his Outstanding Achievement in Cinema Award, Savannah College of Art and Design President Paula Wallace recognized some other folks — the festival’s executive director Danny Filson; managing director Len Cripe; director of operations Christina Routhier; professor of film and television Michael Chaney; and chair of the film and television department Chris Auer.

The recognition was made because of the festival’s 15th anniversary, Wallace said. “Thank you for 15 years of stars over Savannah,” she said.

A montage of Dillon’s films was screened before his award was presented. “It’s really, truly an honor,” he said in accepting the award.

Dillon was cutting middle school classes in 1978 when a casting director spotted him and asked him to audition for the film “Over the Edge.” Dillon obliged and made his film debut, which wasn’t a box office smash, but did get him noticed.

“It sounds so corny to say I was discovered,” Dillon said modestly in an interview before the award presentation. “The project was a very interesting film. It kind of hooked me.”

In the 1980s, Dillon became a teen idol, making films such as “The Outsiders” and “Rumble Fish,” where he worked with director Francis Ford Coppola and co-starred with Diane Lane, who was also presented an Outstanding Achievement in Cinema Award at the Savannah Film Festival.

Dillon has appeared in all types of roles, ranging from dramas to comedies, and several music videos. In 2004, he was awarded a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination for his role as a racist cop in “Crash.”

But he is modest about his achievements. “I was never comfortable with the fame part, the whole part of being a celebrity,” Dillon said. “I still feel that way to a certain extent. Anonymity is a luxury people take for granted.”

One of Dillon’s favorite roles is in “Factotum,” a 2005 film adapted from the novel by Charles Bukowski in which he played Bukowski’s fictional alter ego. “Lili Taylor wraps me up in a diaper in that one,” he said with a laugh.

“Being an actor is a nice thing,” Dillon said. “I can go and inhabit the lives of these characters and try to bring them to life and develop them.”

In addition to acting, Dillon is a director and screenwriter. He wrote and directed “City of Ghosts,” in which he starred with Gérard Depardieu, Stellan Skarsgård and James Caan.

Screened on Friday afternoon, “City of Ghosts” is about a con man who flees New York and goes to Cambodia to escape a federal investigation and search for his mentor, who owes him money.

“The process is so very parallel between directing, acting and writing,” Dillon said. “Really all are about creating life.”

Some of Dillon’s upcoming films include a drama, “Sunlight Jr.,” with co-star Naomi Watts, “Whiskey Bay” with Willem Dafoe, and a comedy, “Imogene,” with Annette Bening and Kristen Wiig.

Dillon currently resides in New York and was home when Hurricane Sandy struck. “Fortunately, my building didn’t lose electricity,” he said.

While in Savannah, Dillon reconnected with Lane. “Diane is great,” he said. “She is such a wonderful actress and so smart.”

“I know so many people are having a hard time right now,” Dillon said. “I’m very concerned about them.”

Since coming to Savannah, Dillon has explored the city by bicycle. “What a beautiful city!” he said.

“My dad was a sales manager and he used to come down to Savannah,” Dillon said. “He worked for a paper company. He and my mom both loved Savannah.”

Before he leaves, Dillon will lead an acting master class with SCAD students. Teaching is something he has done before. “It’s a lot of fun,” he said.

“I don’t always like talking shop,” Dillon said. “But the students have such good questions, I learn something, too.”